Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s 44th season concludes with a flourish as Alisa Weilerstein, lauded by The New York Times as a "brilliant young American cellist," performs Shostakovich’s thrilling Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 107, originally composed for legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, on Saturday, May 18, 2013, 8 pm, at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, and Sunday, May 19, 2013, 7 pm, at Royce Hall, UCLA. Music Director Jeffrey Kahane, who conducts the program and has long been committed to championing artists early in their careers, also presents the US premiere of up-and-coming French composer Hugo Gonzalez-Pioli’s The Love of Zero, an intriguing bassoon concerto, featuring LACO Principal Bassoon Kenneth Munday and played with Robert Florey’s avant-garde 1927 short silent film of the same title. Gonzalez-Pioli, whose work adds a touch of Hollywood to the program, is a 2012 graduate of USC’s prestigious Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program. The program opens with Beethoven’s dramatic Coriolan Overture, Op. 62, and also includes Within Her Arms, “a fragile elegy for fifteen strings” (The New York Times) by Anna Clyne, described as “dazzlingly inventive” (Time Out New York).

Weilerstein, who has attracted attention worldwide for playing that combines a natural virtuosic command and technical precision with impassioned musicianship, was named a MacArthur “Genius” Grant recipient in 2011. The Los Angeles Times praised her "rich lyrical tone," and the Washington Post applauded a previous performance of the Shostakovich concerto as "magisterial."

Concert Preludes, pre-concert talks held one hour before curtain and free for ticket holders, provide insights into the music and artists. Composer Hugo Gonzalez-Pioli joins Jeffrey Kahane to discuss The Love of Zero.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is considered one of the world’s premier chamber orchestras as well as a leader in presenting wide-ranging repertoire and adventurous commissions. Its 2012-13 season, the Orchestra's 44th, features a compelling mix of beloved masterpieces and genre-defying premieres from firmly established and notable up-and-coming composers programmed by Jeffrey Kahane, one of the world’s foremost conductors and pianists, who marks his 16th season as LACO’s music director.

Tickets ($25 – $110) are on sale now and may be purchased online at laco.org, by calling LACO at 213 622 7001, or at the venue box office on the night of the concert, if tickets remain. Discounted tickets are also available by phone for seniors 65 years of age and older and groups of 12 or more. College students may purchase student rush tickets ($10), based on availability, at the box office the day of the concert.